Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Kavanaugh's Mention Of 'Abortion-Inducing Drugs' Sparked Firestorm. Here's A Closer Look At The Science.
During his Supreme Court confirmation hearing on Thursday, Judge Brett Kavanaugh referred to some forms of birth control as 鈥渁bortion-inducing drugs.鈥 The phrase is a characterization that some anti-abortion religious groups use, but it is not supported by scientific evidence. Judge Kavanaugh used the phrase while answering questions by Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, about a 2015 dissent he wrote in a case brought by a Catholic organization over a requirement in the federal health care law that employers include contraception coverage in employee health plans. (Belluck, 9/7)
Boorish. Rude. Disrespectful. Insulting. Grandstanding. Hyperventilating. Deranged. Ridiculous. Drivel. Those were among the words angry Senate Republicans used this week to assail the conduct of Democrats at a Supreme Court hearing that was often tense and sometimes toxic. (Hulse, 9/7)
Facing an uphill battle to derail Donald Trump鈥檚 second nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, Senate Democrats fanned out on Sunday to cast Judge Brett Kavanaugh鈥檚 confirmation fight as a referendum on White House accountability. Liberals fear that elevating Kavanaugh to the nine-person court could create the most conservative panel since the 1930s and lead to legal reversals on precedents including women鈥檚 abortion rights. (Bain and Brody, 9/9)
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has announced that he will hold a committee on Sept. 13. Democrats can delay a panel vote on Kavanaugh鈥檚 nomination for one week. At that point, Grassley would be expected to push Kavanaugh鈥檚 nomination through his panel and onto the Senate floor, setting the stage for a big political win for President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Democrats can only slow down Kavanaugh鈥檚 nomination at that point 鈥 they can鈥檛 stop it without GOP help. Senate Republicans currently have a 51-49 majority, with the replacement for the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Jon Kyl, having been sworn in on Wednesday, giving McConnell another vote to work with to get Kavanaugh through the Senate. (Bresnahan, 9/7)
Judge Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court has many abortion rights advocates worried that the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision is in imminent peril. In many places the rollback of access is already steadily progressing. (Nawaz, 9/7)
